Private equity firms rarely add a new C-suite title. Waud Capital Partners just did. On Feb. 2, 2026, the Chicago firm named Prithvi Raj as its first Chief AI and Data Officer, a job that hadn’t existed there before.
Reeve Waud founded the firm three decades ago and still sets its course. He also chairs the board of Acadia Healthcare, the largest stand-alone behavioral health company in the country. Where does he think the next round of returns will come from? The numbers his companies already generate, and this hire makes that bet plain.
A Job Written From Scratch
Raj will run how artificial intelligence and data tools get built and used across Waud Capital and every business it owns. He works with the deal team, the operating partners, and the management at each company. The goal is simple. More growth, and sharper calls on where the money should go.
Building the role from nothing is the part worth noticing. Plenty of mid-market firms talk about data. Few put one person in charge of it and hand that person a mandate across the whole portfolio. It’s how Reeve Waud has run the firm for years. Hire the operator first, then shape the plan around them.
A Résumé Built in Tech and Consulting
Raj comes from Newmark, where he was general manager and head of AI and data. Earlier he ran SquareFoot, a technology-driven commercial real estate brokerage, as chief executive. Before that came Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, and Zynga.
His schooling matches the work. He holds an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School and an engineering degree from Princeton. That blend of building software, advising large companies, and running one of his own gives him a rare read on how data turns into a decision.
What the Portfolio Stands to Gain
Waud Capital invests in two corners of the economy, healthcare and software. Both throw off enormous amounts of information. Someone who can read it and act fast can lift a company’s value well before any sale.
The move fits the reputation Reeve Waud has built at Acadia Healthcare and across his firm. Back strong people. Give them room. Let the results follow. Raj now owns a piece of that promise, and the year ahead will show what data leadership looks like at a firm that’s acquired more than 500 companies.